Coalition to Rebuild Norwood Hospital Pushes To Rebuild Now

On June 28, 2020, Norwood Hospital flooded following heavy rain. One year later, there is no clear reopening date. The Coalition to Rebuild Norwood Hospital is a group of many interested parties that has three goals: that Norwood Hospital be rebuilt, that it be rebuilt without delay, and that it be reopened as a full-service hospital including all prior services. These parties include Norwood Hospital employees, Norwood select people, and members of the clergy.

One of the members of the Coalition to Rebuild Norwood Hospital is Kathy Reardon, RN. Reardon has worked at Norwood Hospital since 1988. Reardon is one of Norwood Hospital’s Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) Co-Chairs. She attended the rally at the park close to the hospital yesterday.

“The rally was a great success to heighten awareness of [The Coalition to Rebuild Norwood Hospital] and the urgency needed to rebuild Norwood Hospital,” says Reardon. She notes that many hospital employees who are members of SEIU 1199 were present.

“It also brought together people from different local towns, including Sharon, Westwood, and Walpole. There are many elderly people in these towns who are unable to go to Norwood Hospital either during emergencies or for routine care,” Reardon continues.

Steward Healthcare, who bought Norwood Hospital from Caritas Christi Health Care in 2010, has been unclear on an exact reopening date. Hospital President Salvatore Perla was quoted on WCVB last week as saying:

"While an official announcement about the reconstruction will be forthcoming, the decision has been made to rebuild the hospital at the location of its current campus...This is great news for Norwood and the surrounding cities and towns. We are very thankful to all of the stakeholders and elected officials who have been working with us and who have supported our recovery efforts on the heels of a storm and flood that destroyed the facility."

The Archdiocese of Boston states that Norwood Hospital has kept its historic Catholic identity under Steward’s ownership. [Note: Author contacted the Archdiocese’s Chief Health Care Ethicist about The Coalition to Rebuild Norwood Hospital and did not receive a response].

Interested in joining The Coalition to Protect Norwood Hospital’s cause? They have an open letter to Perla and Steward’s Northeast Region president on their website, and a Facebook Page.